Nature » Fauna

Hazel Grouse

Bonasa bonasia

Size: length 35 cm, wingspan 52 cm.

How long it lives: 7 years.

Habitat: mixed conifer and broadleaf tree woods, rich in undergrowth and with wide clearings,especially between 700 and 1,500 meters.

What it eats: in winter it feeds on needles and small branches, in spring on buds and flowers, in summer on fruits, berries, insects, spiders, worms, and mollusks.

Reproduction: the pair already forms in winter; at the beginning of May the female lays 7-11 eggs which it hides in the ground.

Chicks: they are born after almost one month of incubation and after about 40 days they can fly. At the end of the summer the young birds leave the family.

Curiosities: it is a very reserved bird that, thanks to a very sharp sense of hearing, can foresee danger and hide into the wood before being seen.

Remarks: while females and chicks move about a lot, also very far, males always occupy the same territory, defending it from rivals.

In the Park: the species is present all over the Park, especially in the eastern section (Mt. Schiara, Conca di Cajada, Monti del Sole).